Things to Know Before You Buy a Selmer Mark 6 Tenor Sax
If y'all've always tried to buy a used car, then you know a bit what it'due south similar to try to buy a used saxophone: You lot have to be patient, lucky, and good at recognizing the differences between a donkey and a mule. In saxophones, those differences can sometimes be very subtle.
Saxophones are complex machines. In his book, Saxophone Manual: Choosing, Setting Up and Maintaining a Saxophone, Stephen Howard notes that the average saxophone is made upwards of virtually 250 parts (p.24), merely I'm not sure if he'southward counting the pads, felts, corks, etc. in that number or not. At times assessing a saxophone can be a existent claiming, and fifty-fifty seasoned, cynical pros sometimes similar to get a second opinion—especially when information technology comes to questions such as if a lacquer is original or not.
How To Purchase A Used Saxophone: In person shopping really is the best
It doesn't thing if y'all're buying your sax through Craigslist; classified ads in a newspaper; a music store; or even eBay, whatever time y'all buy a saxophone, playing the horn before you lay down your difficult-earned greenbacks is always the all-time manner to go.
The post-obit lists are a way for you to assess the horn y'all are thinking about buying. These bullet pointed lists are also available beneath as both Word and PDF documents—in case yous want to accept one with yous when you get sax shopping. (I take removed the photos from the download copies for quicker downloads.)
Questions to ask before going to check out a horn:
When you text, email, or phone the person virtually the saxophone, here are some of the questions that you really would desire to have the answers to.
- Is the horn in playing condition?
- Does it play in tune?
- What kind of finish does it have? (Lacquer? Silver plate? Nickel plate? Gold plate? Etc.)
- Is the finish original?
- When was information technology serviced last?
- What was washed during that service?
- What is the serial #?
- Is there a model proper name engraved anywhere?
- Is there a model # engraved on the horn? (6M, 10M, etc)
- What does all the engraving on the bell say?
- What kind of damage has it had in the past?
- Are there any dents on the horn?
- Where are the dents? (Neck? Body tube? Bow? Bell? )
What to accept forth when testing horns:
- Mouthpiece that you normally use
- A adept option of reeds
- Cork grease
- Plumbing tape (in instance the cork is likewise small )
- Neck strap
- Tuner
- Pad of newspaper & pen to have notes
- Another person to listen to it
- If that person is another sax player, even improve. This will give you a 2d opinion on the horn, and give yous a improve idea of what the sax sounds similar.
You lot're finally at the identify to be able to wait at and play test the saxophone, simply what should you be looking for?
Overall advent & status:
- Does the example smell the minute you open up it?
- Is the horn light-green, or have patches of green on it?
- Is it covered in red rot, or have patches of reddish rot on it?
- Is information technology blackened? (This likely ways it'southward a silver plated horn that is in dire need of cleaning.)
What to avoid at all costs:
- Saxes with scratched out serial numbers. This can mean that the sax is stolen!
Neck
Any damage to the cervix can take serious consequences on the tone and intonation. Ideally the neck should exist costless of dents and dings. Necks can be repaired, only it takes a very skilled sax tech to practice the job well.
For example, this is what the cervix of my Conn 10M looked like when I kickoff got it. It appears that someone attacked it with a ball peen hammer. (This photo doesn't even testify the damage as bad as it really was. The horn is quite photogenic.)
This is what it looked similar afterward the late Steve Stransky, AKA Sarge, at Earth Wide Sax was done with it. Information technology's not pretty, but it's shine as a baby'south lesser now.
When buying a used saxophone, the questions you should be asking/looking for the answers to include:
- Does it have a neck?
- Is it original? For example, is it the correct make and model to the horn? Does it have a matching series #?
Here is a Weltklang tenor saxophone # 17658…
Weltklang is one brand that also happened to accept a matching series number stamped on the neck…
- Is the neck damaged, or was information technology damaged in by, like in a pull down?
- Any dents that go into the inside of the neck?
- Dents like these are likely to go into the cervix. Often you tin tell by putting you finger into the neck and feeling for a bump.
- If the damage is across where your finger can reach, your tech can tell you lot for sure with ane of his/her specialty tools.
Body tube, bow, & bell
This sax is non direct, smooth, nor round… Oh, and it's missing its keys, springs, and neck. This would non be a good buy. 😉
When buying a used saxophone that you want to play, (not hang on the wall) these are the questions you want to be asking yourself:
- What condition is information technology?
- Is it straight?
- Is information technology smooth?
- Is it round?
- Are there whatsoever dents in the body tube?
- Are the dents five mm wide or less?
- Dents that are deep plenty that they go into the trunk tube tin can cause swirls in the air flow, and pb to tuning and tonal issues.
- Where are the dents located?
- Dents effectually tone holes can be problematic, because they may cause pads to not exist seated correctly, or worse, damage the tone hole.
- Are whatever posts pushed in?
- Is there a bump inside the bell opposite to where the bong to body brace is?
- Is in that location a dent on the body tube where the bell to trunk tube attaches?
- Either of these two things indicates that the sax was likely dropped in its case.
- Pocket-sized dings and dents on the left side of the bow are pretty normal equally players bump the horn into chairs, etc, and usually don't interfere with the tone.
- Is at that place any evidence of repaired damage on the body tube? For case, the lacquer shows signs of damage and nearly seems to have lines that sew together and downwards.
- Any soldering repairs?
- Are they well done?
- What kind of tone holes does it have? Drawn or soldered? Soldered ones similar those on Martin saxes can exist prone to leaking, or even falling off, and require the skills of an excellent sax tech.
Finish
- Is the finish original?
- Relacquered horns generally are worth less than ones in original status. This is especially true if the horn in question is a Selmer.
- ID relacqs by: fuzzy engraving; shiny stop on a horn that doesn't lucifer its age; or lacquer overspray onto the pearl key touches.
- Really good relacs are sometimes hard to tell from original, because shops might re-cut the engraving. For example, Selmer Paris was known to relacquer horns for players. Those relacs are very hard to tell from the original.
- This Mark VI bari however, was obviously not relacquered in the Selmer manufactory…
- If the horn is relacquered, poorly done jobs may have damaged the tone holes.
- Silverish, nickel, or gold-plated horns generally sell for more than lacquer ones.
Rods
- Move the swivel tubes up and downwards and side to side.
- If there is too much movement, this will accept to exist repaired, and should be factored in to your offer.
- NB: Vintage Keilwerths are especially prone to wear in this area, and because of their rolled tone holes, repairs are catchy. A really good sax tech is your all-time bet when faced with this kind of repair.
Pads:
- What condition are they in?
- Are they soft?
- What kind of resonators practise they take in them?
- Are the pads and resos matching? Or is there a hodge podge of dissimilar kinds on the horn?
Questions you lot should exist asking yourself:
- Do you similar the tone?
- Do you like, or can you lot alive with the saxophone's ergos?
- Can you see yourself playing this horn for a few years?
- Does it see your needs? For example, are yous buying a vintage horn for university, when you should be buying a new one instead? Or are you lot buying a high pitch horn when you in fact planning on playing electric current music with others?
Do I really need all this data just to buy a used saxophone?
Yes, yes y'all exercise. And remember, at that place'south nothing wrong with asking if y'all can go your tech to look it over and giving his/her input—this is especially true if yous are buying an musical instrument worth thousands of dollars.
Thousands of dollars or non, buying a saxophone is always a very personal decision, and represents an outlay of your personal savings. My hope is that this commodity gives you some helpful tools that you lot volition be able to use when you go out and try some used horns.
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Source: https://bassic-sax.info/version5/articles/tips-on-how-to-buy-a-used-saxophone/
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